Tripoli

Car bombs went off outside the Egyptian and United Arab Emirates embassies in the Libyan capital on Thursday, causing some damage to the long-shuttered buildings but no casualties, officials said.

Lebanese troops battled Islamic militants in the northern city of Tripoli for a second day Saturday, with five people killed and more than a dozen wounded in the clashes, the Lebanese army and state media said.

“This is a battle for Egypt not Libya,” one of the senior officials said. “Egypt was the first country in the region to warn against terrorism and it is also the first to fight it.”

Libyan officials expressed dismay after Sufi Muslim shrines were partially destroyed by militants over the weekend.

Armed Libyan militiamen stormed the Tripoli airport before withdrawing on Monday, demanding the release of one of their leaders who disappeared several nights ago.

Gun battles between rival militia groups erupted near center of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on Wednesday.

Libya said it is taking steps to control prisons throughout the country after allegations of torture emerged.

Fighting erupted in central Tripoli on Tuesday, leaving five dead and several more injured as the Libyan government struggles to reel in armed gangs left after months of civil war.